Increasing the Effectiveness of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Prevention Programs

Abstract

Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), located in the knee joint, is a devastating and costly injury that can take athletes out of their sport for 9 to 12 months after surgery. About 120,000 athletes are affected by this injury every year in the United States (University of Wisconsin, 2017). This paper aims to summarize the research available on the topics of ACL risk factors and current ACL injury prevention programs to find potential improvement areas. Research methods include a literature review on peer-reviewed articles from journals in the field of sports medicine. Four main categories of ACL injury risk factors were found through this research: biomechanical, anatomical, hormonal, and environmental. Because biomechanical risk factors are the most well-known and are modifiable with training in comparison to the others, this is the primary focus of most ACL injury prevention programs (IPPs). These programs have been shown to be effective in reducing ACL injury rates. However, one limitation to ACL IPPs’ success is their lack of implementation. Therefore, it was found that training coaches through online educational resources and professional development programs could be the key to helping coaches become confident and equipped to administer ACL IPP protocols to athletes. Overall, these improvements could help reduce the commonality of this injury and the significant financial costs associated, allowing athletes to continue being active in their sports and avoid long-term health implications.